Buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets

ABSTRACT

A buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets is adapted for being installed in a safety helmet with a buckle strap. The buckle strap adjustment assembly includes two positioning elements and a fixing element. One end of each positioning element is fixed in the safety helmet and the fixing element is detachably combined with the other end of each positioning element. The fixing element has a body portion which has first through-holes in each of two sides thereof for the buckle strap passing through. Basing on the above structure, the present invention can effectively avoid that the safety helmet slips up and down.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a buckle strap adjustment assembly,especially to a buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets.

2. Description of Related Art

For safely riding bicycles, users wear special safety helmets forbicycles. A conventional safety helmet generally includes a buckle strapfor fixing the safety helmet on a user's head. However, conventionalbuckle straps cannot effectively fix safety helmets on users' heads sothat the safety helmets easily moves back and forth or from side to sideand always aren't located in a proper position, which causes that thesafety helmets cannot be worn comfortably and safely.

Accordingly, there are all kinds of buckle strap lacing and lockingassemblies on the market, which can prevent safety helmets from movingback and forth or from side to side. Furthermore, some buckle straplacing and locking assemblies have an adjustment function so that userscan adjust tightness/looseness of the buckle strap lacing and lockingassemblies to ensure that safety helmets fit users' heads and providecomfort and safety for users.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a conventional buckle strap lacingand locking assembly 700 a for safety helmets includes a fixing piece 71a, an annular strap 72 a and two adjustment elements 73 a. The fixingpiece 71 a has through-hole portions 771 a arranged in a lower portionand a higher portion of each of left and right sides thereof, which areshaped like elongated slots, and a serrated portion 712 a protrudingfrom a central thereof.

The annular strap 72 a is mounted in the safety helmet 800 a, and twoadjustment elements 73 a are disposed on two rear end portions of theannular strap 72 a and engage with the serrated portion 712 a of thefixing piece 71 a. Basing on the engagement between the two adjustmentelements 73 a and the serrated portion 712 a, the buckle strap lacingand locking assembly can be used to adjust tightness/looseness of theannular strap 72 a. A buckle strap 810 a of the safety helmet 800 a hasa rear strap 812 a. One end of the rear strap 812 a passes through twoof the through-hole portions 771 a of the fixing piece 71 a to bedirectly fixed on a rear portion of the safety helmet 800 a, and theother end of the rear strap 812 a passes through the other through-holeportions 771 a of the fixing piece 71 a to be fixed. When users need toadjust tightness/looseness of the annular strap 72 a up and down, userscan move the fixing piece 71 a up and down along the rear strap 812 a toachieve the adjustment object.

However, during use, the buckle strap lacing and locking assembly 700 awill become loose after adjusted. Because two rear straps 812 a directlypass through the through-hole portions 711 a of the fixing piece 71 aand then are directly fixed on the safety helmet 800 a, the fixing piece71 a easily directly slips up and down along the two rear straps 812 aand cannot be effectively located, which causes that the safety helmet800 a cannot be firmly attached to a user's head to protect the user.

Hence, the inventors of the present invention believe that theshortcomings described above are able to be improved and finally suggestthe present invention which is of a reasonable design and is aneffective improvement based on deep research and thought.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a buckle strapadjustment assembly for safety helmets which can effectively avoid thatsafety helmets slip up and down.

To achieve the above-mentioned object, a buckle strap adjustmentassembly for safety helmets in accordance with the present invention isprovided. The buckle strap adjustment assembly which is installed in asafety helmet with a buckle strap includes two positioning elements, oneend of each positioning element fixed in the safety helmet; and a fixingelement detachably combined with the other end of each positioningelement; wherein the fixing element has a body portion which has twoleft-to-right adjacent first through-holes in each of two sides thereoffor the buckle strap passing through.

The efficacy of the present invention is as follows: the fixing elementof the present invention has the body portion which the buckle strap canpass through, so that the present invention can effectively and directlyfix the buckle strap, and comparing with the prior art, the presentinvention can effectively avoid that the safety helmet slips up and downduring use to ensure that the safety helmet can be firmly attached to auser's head.

To further understand features and technical contents of the presentinvention, please refer to the following detailed description anddrawings related the present invention. However, the drawings are onlyto be used as references and explanations, not to limit the presentinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional buckle strap lacing andlocking assembly for safety helmets;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the conventional buckle straplacing and locking assembly and a safety helmet;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a buckle strap adjustmentassembly according to the present invention and a safety helmet;

FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of the buckle strap adjustmentassembly according to the present invention and the safety helmet;

FIG. 5 is an assembled perspective view of another embodiment of thebuckle strap adjustment assembly according to the present invention andthe safety helmet; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of thebuckle strap adjustment assembly according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a buckle strap adjustment assembly100 for safety helmets according to the present invention is adapted forbeing installed in a safety helmet 800 with a buckle strap 810. Thesafety helmet 800 is a special helmet for bicycles. The buckle strapadjustment assembly 100 includes two positioning elements 10 and afixing element 20.

Please refer to FIG. 3, each positioning element 10 is made of amaterial with slight elasticity, such as plastic and the like. Eachpositioning element 10 includes a sheet portion 11, an embedded portion12 protruding out of an end portion (top end portion) of the sheetportion 11, and a first fastening portion 13 formed in the other endportion (bottom end portion) of the sheet portion 11, relative to theembedded portion 12, which may consist of a plurality of fasteningholes.

The fixing element 20 also is made of a material with slight elasticity,such as plastic and the like. The fixing element 20 includes a bodyportion 21 and two protruding pieces 22 extending out of a top lateraledge of the body portion 21. Each protruding piece 22 has a secondfastening portion 23 formed thereon, which may consist of a plurality offastening pins. Basing on ergonomics, the body portion 21 is designed tohave a right side and a left side slightly bent frontward, therebyforming a flat sheetlike body in curved shape. Two left-to-rightadjacent first through-holes 24 a, 24 b are formed in a lower edge ofeach of the right and the left sides of the body portion 21.

The buckle strap adjustment assembly 100 of the present invention ismounted in a rear side of the safety helmet 800. One end of eachpositioning element 10 is fixed in the rear side of the safety helmet800, and the other end may be detachably combined with the fixingelement 20. In the embodiment of the present invention, the embeddedportions 12 of the two positioning elements 10 may be respectivelyembedded in the safety helmet 800 in advance so as to fix the twopositioning elements 10 in the safety helmet 800, and the fixing element20 is combined with the two positioning elements 10 through anengagement between the two second fastening portions 23 of theprotruding pieces 22 and the two first fastening portions 13 of thepositioning elements 10, that is, each fastening pin may be fastenedinto a corresponding fastening hole to be located. The first fasteningportions 13 and the second fastening portions 23 may have differentstructures from that of the embodiment to achieve the above object, forexample, the first fastening portions 13 may be designed to be aplurality of fastening pins, and the second fastening portions 23 may bedesigned to be a plurality of fastening holes engaging with thefastening pins.

Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the buckle strap 810 has two frontstraps 811 and at least one rear strap 812. After passing through thesafety helmet 800, each of the two front straps 811 may be connectedwith a locating element (not shown) which may abut against the safetyhelmet 800, so that the two front straps may be fixed on a frond endportion of the safety helmet 800. The rear strap 812 of the buckle strap810 passes through the first through-holes 24 a, 24 b of the bodyportion 21 of the fixing element 20 to be firmly combined in the safetyhelmet 800. Further, fastening pieces 813, 814 are disposed between thetwo front straps 811 and the rear strap 812 to fasten each other.

Accordingly, the fixing element 20 and the two positioning elements 10of the present invention may be mounted at a rear portion inside thesafety helmet 800, the two front straps 811 of the buckle strap 810 maybe fixed at a front portion inside the safety helmet 800, and the rearstrap 812 may be mounted on the fixing element 20 via passing throughthe first through-holes 24 a, 24 b, so that the body portion 21 of thefixing element 20 can elastically abut against a back portion of auser's head when the user wears the safety helmet 800. Thus, the fixingelement 20 and the two front straps 811 may form a three-site fixationstructure in the safety helmet 800 to prevent the safety helmet 800 frommoving back and forth or from side to side and provide optimum comfortand safety for the user. Additionally, since the rear strap 812 of thebuckle strap 810 directly passes through the first through-holes 24 a,24 b of the fixing element 20, when the user needs to adjust the bucklestrap 810 up and down, he may directly draw and move the rear strap 812to adjust the buckle strap 810 in a proper position. Thereby the safetyhelmet 800 can be adjusted to fit the user's head and firmly worn by theuser to avoid moving up and down.

Please refer to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, another embodiment of the presentinvention is shown. The difference between this embodiment and the aboveembodiment is that this embodiment may further include an annular strap30 and a lacing and locking mechanism 40.

The annular strap 30 is made of a material with slight elasticity, suchas plastic and the like. The annular strap 30 includes two end portions31 a, 31 b, and each end portion 31 a or 31 b forms a slot 32 a or 32 bin an extremity thereof. The slot 32 a has a serrated portion 33 a onone inner wall thereof, the slot 32 b has a serrated portion 33 b on oneinner wall thereof, and the two serrated portions 33 a, 33 b correspondto each other.

The lacing and locking mechanism 40 includes a base 41, a driven element42, an adjustment wheel 43, a connecting board 44 and a fixing assembly45, and may further include a pair of panels 46. A circular groove 411is defined in a center of the base 41, and a plurality of continuouslocking teeth 412 protrude from a side wall of the circular groove 411and a pivot pin 413 protrudes out of a bottom wall of the circulargroove 411. The base 41 has a second through-hole 414 extending throughthe pivot pin 413 and the base 41, and two openings 415 connected withthe circular groove 411.

The driven element 42 includes a main body 421, a gear 422 protrudingout of an inner end surface of the main body 421, a plurality of elasticarms 423 respectively extending from lateral edges of the main body 421,and a plurality of locking portions 424 respectively formed on outsideedges of the elastic arms 423. Furthermore, the driven element 42further includes a pivot hole 425 which extends through the main body421 and the gear 422. An end of each elastic arm 423 is bent andextended towards the main body 421 to form a blocking arm 426.

The adjustment wheel 43 is a circular wheel of which an outer edge has aslip prevention surface 431 with concavities and convexities in orderthat the adjustment wheel 43 can be driven to turn. The adjustment wheel43 has a shaft portion 432 and a plurality of guiding pins 433 whichprotrude from a center of an inner concave surface of the adjustmentwheel 43. A locking hole 434 is defined in a center of the shaft portion432. The connecting board 44 has a third through-hole 441. The fixingassembly 45 may be a screw. The two panels 46 may have particularcharacters, patterns or symbols formed thereon.

The annular strap 30 is mounted in the safety helmet 800, the two endportions 31 a, 31 b of the annular strap 30 corresponding to the fixingelement 20. The connecting board 44 is located on the fixing element 20,and further, the connecting board 44 may be integrally connected withthe body portion 21 of the fixing element 20. Of course, the connectingboard 44 and the fixing element 20 also may be separate components, andthe connecting board 44 is mounted on the body portion 21 of the fixingelement 20 via joint etc.

The two end portions 31 a, 31 b of the annular strap 30 respectivelypass through the two openings 415 of the base 41 and overlap each otherin the base 41, and the pivot pin 413 of the base 41 passes through theslots 32 a, 32 b in the two end portions 31 a, 31 b. The driven element42 is received in the circular groove 411 of the base 41, and the pivotpin 413 of the base 41 pivotally engages with the pivot hole 425 of thedriven element 42. At the same time, the locking portion 424 on eachelastic arm 423 abuts against a corresponding locking tooth 412, and thegear 422 extends into the slots 32 a, 32 b of the two end portions 31 a,31 b and engages with the two serrated portions 33 a, 33 b.

The shaft portion 432 of the adjustment wheel 43 is pivotally insertedinto the second through-hole 414 of the base 41, so that the adjustmentwheel 43 is pivotally mounted on the base 41. Each guiding pin 433 ofthe adjustment wheel 43 is inserted into a corresponding space definedby an corresponding elastic arm 423, a corresponding blocking arm 426and the main body 421 and may move in the corresponding space, therebythe adjustment wheel 43 drives the driven element 43 to turn. The twopanels are detachably and relatively mounted on both sides of thecircular groove 411 of the base 41 to provide an effect of characterdisplay. The fixing assembly 45 may pass through the third through-hole441 of the connecting board 44 and the second through-hole 414 of thebase 41, and further extend into the locking hole 434 of the adjustmentwheel 43, whereby to locate the adjustment wheel 43 and mount the base41 on an outside edge of the connecting board 44.

In this embodiment, the driven element 42 is driven to turn via turningthe adjustment wheel 43, so that the gear 422 drives the serratedportions 33 a, 33 b of the two end portions 31 a, 31 b of the annularstrap 30, which leads the two end portions 31 a, 31 b of the annularstrap 30 to move towards or away from each other thereby adjusting thesize of the loop formed by the annular strap 30. Accordingly, the usercan adjust tightness/looseness of the annular strap 30 of the safetyhelmet 800 to ensure that the safety helmet 800 fits the user's head andis firmly worn.

When the adjustment wheel 43 is turned clockwise, since each guiding pin433 may abut against an inner side of the corresponding blocking arm 426of the driven element 42, the adjustment wheel 43 may drive the drivenelement 42 to turn. At the same time, the locking teeth 412 in thecircular groove 411 may abut against the locking portion 424, so eachelastic arm 423 generates elastic deformation towards the main body 421,which leads each locking portion 424 to cross the adjacent locking tooth412 and enter a trough of a next locking tooth 412. Under the action ofthe elastic force from each elastic arm 423, each locking portion 424abuts against the trough to be fixed. However, if the adjustment wheel43 is continuously turned clockwise, then the locking portions 424 ofthe driven element 42 will abut against the locking teeth 412 in thecircular groove 411 in turn, till the adjustment is completed and thelocking portions 424 of the driven element 42 are fixed in correspondingtroughs of the corresponding locking teeth 424. Based on the aboveadjustment, the annular strap 30 can move inwards by a proper distance(the maximum distance is the distance between the slot 32 a and the slot32 b) to be tightened.

Additionally, when the adjustment wheel 43 is turned anticlockwise,since each guiding pin 433 abuts against an inner side between eachelastic arm 423 and the main body 421, the driven element 42 may bedriven to turn anticlockwise. At the same time, each elastic arm 423undergoes elastic deformation towards the main body 421, so that eachlocking portion 424 crosses the adjacent locking tooth 412 and enters atrough of a next locking tooth 412. Under the action of the elasticforce from each elastic arm 423, each locking portion 424 will abutagainst the trough to be fixed. Also, when the continuouslyanticlockwise adjustment is completed, the locking portions 424 of thedriven element 42 are fixed in corresponding troughs of thecorresponding locking teeth 424. The difference is that the annularstrap 30 can move outwards for a proper distance to be loosed.

Thus, because the end portion of the buckle strap 810 can pass throughthe body portion 21 of the fixing element 20 of the present invention,the present invention can effectively and directly fix the two rearstraps 812 of the buckle strap 810. Comparing with the prior art, thepresent invention can effectively avoid that the safety helmet 800 slipsup and down during use so as to ensure that the safety helmet 800 can befirmly attached to a user's head. Furthermore, basing on the structuraldesign of the fixing element 20 and the positioning elements 10, thepresent invention can freely replace the fixing element 20.

Secondly, the present invention may further include the annular strap 30and the lacing and locking mechanism 40 to provide a function ofleft-to-right adjustment for the safety helmet 800. Accordingly, thepresent invention can be adjusted to ensure that the safety helmet 800fits the user's head and provide optimum comfort and safety for users.

What are disclosed above are only the specification and the drawings ofthe preferred embodiments of the present invention and it is thereforenot intended that the present invention be limited to the particularembodiments disclosed. It will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various equivalent changes may be made depending on thespecification and the drawings of the present invention withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

1. A buckle strap adjustment assembly for safety helmets which isinstalled in a safety helmet with a buckle strap, comprising: twopositioning elements, one end of each positioning element fixed in thesafety helmet; and a fixing element, detachably combined with the otherend of each positioning element, having a body portion which has twoleft-to-right adjacent first through-holes in each of two sides thereofto pass through the buckle strap.
 2. The buckle strap adjustmentassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the buckle strap has at leastone rear strap which passes through the first through-holes of thefixing element.
 3. The buckle strap adjustment assembly as claimed inclaim 2, wherein each positioning element has a sheet portion, anembedded portion protruding out of an end portion of the sheet portionand a first fastening portion formed in the other end portion of thesheet portion, relative to the embedded portion, the embedded portionbeing embedded in the safety helmet; and the fixing element having twosecond fastening portions engaging with the first fastening portions ofthe two positioning elements.
 4. The buckle strap adjustment assembly asclaimed in claim 3, wherein the fixing element has two protruding piecesextending out of a lateral edge of the body portion, each of which hasone of the second fastening portions formed thereon.
 5. The buckle strapadjustment assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein each first fasteningportion includes a plurality of fastening holes and each secondfastening portion includes a plurality fastening pins.
 6. The bucklestrap adjustment assembly as claimed in claim 3, further comprising: anannular strap, mounted in the safety helmet and having two end portions,each end portion having a slot formed in an extremity thereof and eachslot having a serrated portion on one of its inner walls; and a lacingand locking mechanism comprising: a base, having a circular groove, asecond through-hole and two openings connected with the circular groove,wherein a plurality of locking teeth protrude from a side wall of thecircular groove and a pivot pin protrudes out of a bottom wall of thecircular groove, the second through-hole extends through the pivot pinand the base, and the two end portions of the annular strap pass throughthe two openings of the base, and the pivot pin passes through each slotof the annular strap; a driven element, having a main body, a gearprotruding out of an end surface of the main body, a plurality ofelastic arms respectively extending from lateral edges of the main bodyand a plurality of locking portions respectively formed on outside edgesof the elastic arms, wherein an end of each elastic arm is bent andextended towards the main body 421 to form a blocking arm, the drivenelement further has a pivot hole extending through the main body and thegear, the pivot pin of the base pivotally engages with the pivot hole,the gear engages with the serrated portions of the annular strap, andeach locking portion abuts against a locking tooth of the base; anadjustment wheel, having a shaft portion and a plurality of guiding pinswhich protrude from the adjustment wheel, wherein the shaft portion hasa locking hole and is pivotally inserted in the second through-hole ofthe base, and each guiding pin is inserted in a corresponding spacedefined by an corresponding elastic arm, a corresponding blocking armand the main body; a connecting board, located on the body portion ofthe fixing element, having a third through-hole; and a fixing assembly,passing through the third through-hole of the connecting board and thesecond through-hole of the base, further extending into the locking holeof the adjustment wheel for locating the adjustment wheel and mountingthe base on an outside edge of the connecting board.
 7. The buckle strapadjustment assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the connecting boardis integrally connected with the body portion of the fixing element. 8.The buckle strap adjustment assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein theconnecting board and the fixing element are separate components, and theconnecting board is joint on the body portion of the fixing element.